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During the previous race for the White House, the former president courted the electorate with promises to lower prices starting on day one. However, after his inauguration, there was minimal focus to the cost of living. All that changed after inflation-weary citizens delivered a rebuke at the polls. Shortly thereafter, his team launched a slapdash effort to address affordability. Regrettably, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—characterized by absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Assertions and Grocery Store Reality

Merely 48 hours post-election, Trump kicked off his affordability drive with a disastrous statement: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from the wealthy leader—often associates with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for millions of Americans who struggle when visiting the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their struggles as trivial, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.

This statement that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and inaccurate. In what way could every price be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were pushing up costs? Official statistics show the cost of bananas increased nearly 7% over the past year, beef prices climbed almost 15%, and coffee prices surged 18.9%—partly because of import taxes applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six main grocery groups monitored by the government’s price index, such as animal proteins (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

Despite the evidence, Trump persists in repeating his big lie about lower costs. After the vote, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements ignore the fact that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. Currently, price growth is running at a 3% annual rate, which is 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, he boasted that gas prices had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, even though government figures show they are $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently warned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. A lot of voters are angry about rising costs after promises of reductions. In response, aides suggested a simple solution: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes would not increase costs for US consumers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Possible Effects

As some tariffs reduced on several food items, the administration will likely claim that he has lowered costs once these products start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist taking credit for extinguishing a blaze that he ignited. In another instance, while speaking fast-food leaders, Trump declared that “this is the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to countless households who are struggling—particularly when many face cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

Per a survey from October, three-quarters of respondents believe the state of the economy are fair or poor, while only 26% consider them positive. A separate survey showed that a majority of citizens feel Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Reality and Proposed Measures

Scott Bessent, the president’s chief financial officer, lately disputed claims of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, certain sectors of the American economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and shed approximately 33,000 jobs since January. Citing this weakness, Bessent urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could ease financial pressure.

In response to widespread concern about living costs, Trump proposed a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” For many households in need, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will enact the proposal. The scheme would likely raise government expenditure, increase interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

A further proposed solution for affordability centered on creating half-century home loans, based on the idea that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, the truth is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—frequently cutting them by a small amount per month. The downside is that these loans could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Outlook

In their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more blamed the previous president for financial challenges, including increasing costs. Spokespeople stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is absurd and inaccurate allegations. Actually, Biden left a strong economy, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. But, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have created an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi fears that if key regions such as major economies tumble into recession, the US could slide into a broad economic slump. During recessions, people generally possess reduced funds to spend, and inflation often falls. Unfortunately, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans really can’t afford.